JUST Eat has expanded its trial of seaweed-coated takeaway boxes, with outlets in Scotland to be included in the pilot.
It comes as part of the food delivery firm’s commitment to reduce plastic pollution across the sector, with it using Notpla’s seaweed technology – which sees carboard containers made from tree and grass pulp lined with seaweed, which Just Eat said is designed to be water-resistant and greaseproof.
The containers were first trialled in three London takeaways last year. It will now be expanded to 11 takeaways, including Firehouse Grill, Coatbridge; Hatley’s Fish & Chips, Alloa; Mr Chef, Uddingston; and Mancini’s Street Food, Newmains. Just Eat said that the trial period, which will last for three weeks, will save an estimated 30,000 plastic boxes from entering the waste stream.
Robin Clark, senior director of global partnerships and sustainability at Just Eat, said, “We are absolutely committed to building a more sustainable future for the food delivery industry, using our reach and expertise to help our restaurant partners adopt more environmentally-friendly products and practices. We’ve already taken a number of positive steps to drive this change across our network – from removing single use plastics and pioneering the use of seaweed sauce sachets to increasing the number of electric vehicles in use in food delivery.
“We’re excited to continue our work with Notpla to create a credible alternative to the plastic box that is recyclable, home-compostable and which degrades in a matter of weeks. It has all the benefits of plastic from a practical point of view but none of the negative environmental impacts. We look forward to expanding the use of the boxes more widely with the aim to roll these out across the UK and our other markets, so that customers across the globe can enjoy their favourite takeaways without the plastic waste.”
Pierre Paslier, co-founder and co-CEO of Notpla added, “Now, more than ever, is the time to adopt sustainable packaging solutions that don’t deceive consumers. Unlike any other solution on the market, the Notpla coating is free from any synthetic chemical. Instead we use seaweed, a material proof-tested by nature for 100 million years. No more plastic, no micro plastics, no “forever chemicals”. We’re thrilled to work hand in hand with Just Eat Takeaway.com to pioneer this solution across the UK.”
Just Eat added that the project builds on the success of its existing partnership with Notpla, which has also seen the piloted use of seaweed-based sauce sachets in a variety of restaurants. So far, Just Eat said that the trials have stopped over 46,000 plastic sachets from entering customer homes. The firm added that it expects to continue to explore how best to roll this out more widely across the sector.
